NBC exec: Twitter told us how to get journalist suspended

Twitter alerted NBC to a post containing an executive’s email address, prompting NBC to file a complaint that lead to the suspension of a reporter’s Twitter account, according to The Telegraph.

“Our social media dept was actually alerted to it by Twitter,” NBC Sports vice-president of communications Christopher McCloskey via email said of the tweet by Guy Adams, the Los Angeles correspondent for The Independent. “Then we filled out the form and submitted it.”

On Monday, Deadspin.com reported that an NBC spokesperson had told Sports Illustrated that it was the network who made the first move against Adams, whose account was suspended after he posted NBC Olympics president Gary Zenkel’s company email in an effort to get his followers to submit their complaints about NBC’s coverage of the London Games. Adams had heavily criticized the network for airing events on time-delay.

Adams stood behind his actions in a column for The Independent Tuesday.

“As a journalist, you know you are doing your job properly when you manage to upset rich, powerful and entitled people who are used to getting their own way,” Adams wrote. “And you know you’ve really got under their skin when they pursue censorship, the avenue of last resort since time immemorial.”

He also said neither NBC nor Twitter had contacted him before suspending his account.

“If they had dropped me a line, I might – might! – have quietly deleted the offending Tweet,” he said. “Instead, they wandered into a PR controversy which has resulted in hundreds of thousands more people being made aware of its existence.”

UPDATE 2:50 p.m EST: Adams’ account has been reinstated. “Did I miss much while I was away?,” was his first tweet back. He has since explained that he got an email saying only that NBC retracted its request for his suspension.

About the Author

Arturo R. García is the managing editor at Racialicious.com. He is based in San Diego, California and has written for both print and broadcast media, including contributions to GlobalComment.com, The Root and Comment Is Free. Follow him on Twitter at @ABoyNamedArt